IRISH RAIL HAS announced that it will ban alcohol on four of its Friday services from Dublin.

The ban, which comes into effect from 12 October, follows a number of persistent complaints about “overindulging” passengers who use the services.

From next week, alcohol will be banned on the 11.25am, 1.25pm and 3.35pm services from Heuston Station to Galway on Fridays, as will the 2.45pm Friday service to Westport.

Irish Rail says that customers who board these services in possession of alcohol will have their drinks confiscated, while no alcoholic drinks will be sold by catering staff on board.

Details of the ban will be displayed at stations, and customers who book their journeys online will also be notified during the reservation process.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said the vast majority of passengers who drink on board do so without impacting on others, but “unfortunately there is a minority who overindulge, particularly those travelling in large groups”.

The spokesperson added that there have been “high volumes” of complaints against those who “disrupt others in a negative way”.

The ban is an extension of a number of alcohol-free services which the company has already implemented.

Passengers are currently banned from drinking on the 1.15pm and 3.10pm Heuston to Waterford services on Fridays, the 1pm service from Galway to Heuston on Sundays, and the 12.40pm, 3.10pm and 6.05pm services from Waterford to Heuston on Sundays.